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Safety advocates: Many hazardous IKEA dressers remain in homes 2 years after recall

Far too many of IKEA’s recalled, hazardous dressers remain in consumers’ homes, safety advocates said Thursday on the second anniversary of the largest product recall in history. Since the 2016 recall of millions of IKEA Malm dressers and similar units for their propensity to tip over onto children and crush them, advocates say there has not been enough action by IKEA to remove hazardous furniture from homes. Kids In Danger (KID), Consumer Federation of America (CFA)...

Far too many of IKEA's recalled, hazardous dressers remain in consumers' homes, safety advocates said Thursday on the second anniversary of the largest product recall in history.

Since the 2016 recall of millions of IKEA Malm dressers and similar units for their propensity to tip over onto children and crush them, advocates say there has not been enough action by IKEA to remove hazardous furniture from homes. Kids In Danger (KID), Consumer Federation of America (CFA) Shane's Foundation, Consumers Union (CU) and parents Jeremy and Janet McGee continue to call on IKEA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to take further action to get more of these dangerous products out of homes. The death of the McGees' son, Ted, led to the 2016 recall.

Last year, a ninth child death led IKEA to reannounce the recall of its dressers. In addition, the number of units said to be affected was revised downward, from 29 million to 17.3 million. IKEA has not provided any updated recall information dated after January 1, 2017, despite requests from the safety organizations, the groups said Thursday. The latest recall response rate information from IKEA includes the following:

? 175,000 refunds provided to consumers;

? 268,000 consumers provided with anchoring straps following the recall; and

? 439,000 anchoring straps sent out by IKEA prior to the dressers' recall, in a program that began in July 2015 following the deaths of two children.

"Overall, IKEA's information indicates that consumers have been left to fend for themselves. At best, only around 1% of consumers have had the unstable furniture removed and been issued a refund. Many of those counted as 'participating in the recall' were issued anchoring straps prior to the recall. And in the cases where IKEA has sent consumers straps, it has no way to know if the furniture left in homes actually has been anchored," a statement from the groups read.

"Our groups call on IKEA and the CPSC to provide updated data on the effectiveness of the recall, a complete accounting of action taken to date to alert consumers to the recall, and a renewed concrete effort by both to reach consumers who currently possess this deadly furniture and urge them to remove the recalled product from their home and get a refund. In addition, IKEA and the CPSC should join our organizations in working for a strong mandatory standard that covers all clothing storage units, includes requirements for test weights that reflect the risk of injury or death to all children under six, and better replicates real-world use."

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